As I’ve noted before, Climate Change is a huge and complicated problem. While this makes many people feel overwhelmed, I think its actually one of the most promising elements about the issue. Let’s try to reframe Climate Change. It does not have to be a movement towards giving up comfort or convenience, it can be an invitation to be better. It can be an opportunity to improve processes, materials, systems, and ourselves. Obviously, if our way of life is producing the waste that is destroying our planet, there is a lot of room for improvement! And the best part about that is improvement can be made in infinite sectors in every corner of the globe.

An organization called Project Drawdown has compiled research and data on a multitude of approaches people are taking to reduce the Green House Gasses in our atmosphere. There are projects for any interest group. If you are interested in food, like I am, you can work towards reducing food waste, increasing the market for organic agriculture, or increasing the variety of plant-based options. If emissions are your thing, there are projects around renewable energy, advocating for bike-friendly infrastructure in your city, or improving efficiency in our existing systems. The same is true for sectors like clothing, construction, and even educating women and girls. Every part of life on Earth is affected by Climate Change and pretty much every part of life on Earth can effect Climate Change too.

When presented with the choice between an old technology that is inefficient, even counterproductive, and one that we’ve improved by learning from that old model – which would you choose? The choice between solar and petroleum seems clear to me. Even ignoring that there are subsidies keeping fossil fuels competitive in price, renewables are getting cheaper every day AND they are immediately more pleasant. I would be happy to have a solar panel on my house, I would be horrified to live near an oil drilling operation. Likewise, I’d rather work in a LEED Platinum building – one that flushes toilets with gray water, has a living roof, captures rainwater, and gets plenty of sunlight – than a generic office building with florescent lighting, paint with VOC’s and intensely active air conditioning.